John Lawrence Reilly of St. Louis, and life-long resident of Alton, IL, died unexpectedly on 10/07/2020, at the age of 78. John was the loving husband for 56 years of Alicia Reilly (nee Cruz), and the devoted father of 3 children and 5 grandchildren. John was a long-time member of St Mary's Church in Alton, and recently St Clair of Assisi Parish in Ellisville. A graduate of CBC and St. Benedict's College, he was an avid sportsman, with a love for golf, baseball, & track. Known for his sense of humor, his tremendous generosity, and his unflagging optimism, John was loved, and will be greatly missed by all.

Services: A memorial Mass will be celebrated for John on Thursday, October 15th, 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary's Church, 519 E 4th St, Alton, IL 62002.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Oct. 12, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for John Reilly

21 Entries

Bob [& Marta] McCarron

January 28, 2023

John was a Junior (class of '60) when I (class of '62) started as a freshman at CBC. He held the track records and was a very good athlete. I remember seeing him run at the track meets.

Years later (1970), when I married Marta (Hernandez) and moved to O'Fallon Mo., we met Alicia and John. Marta and Alicia became great friends. Alicia first came to our house to meet Marta, when she heard there was a "new Cuban" in town.

I always admired John, and wished we had more time together.

Marta and I moved to Louisiana, and John and Alicia moved to Illinois, but we visited each other with the children through the years.

Marta passed October 8th 2008. John passed October 7th, 2020. He was a very good husband and Man.

Joan Carraway

October 26, 2020

Alicia, Kevin told me about John. I am so very sorry. Please, I would love to see you. Roy can give you my number.

RRReilly

October 17, 2020

Dear uncle John this is your nephew Richard from Tucson Arizona. Whenever I was in Missouri or Illinois ,you always made me feel very welcome and I will miss you very much. Aunt Alicia and my wonderful cousins :Alicia ,Missy ,and Patricia my heartfelt condolences and sympathies for the sudden loss. I wish you well and please come visit Tucson anytime.

Maura Anne Moody

October 16, 2020

My deepest sympathy and condolences to Aunt Alicia and the girls. I have missed seeing you all and are very saddened by this sudden event. He will truly be missed by all the Reillys and Burns' as well as everyone he came in contact with.
Maura (Burns) Moody

Jean Napoli

Planted Trees

Kurt Granberg

Sent Flowers

Roger and Peg Bacik

October 14, 2020

We are so sorry to hear of John's passing. May our Lord bring you comfort and strength. Condolences and prayers for Alica and the entire family. May he Rest In Peace

a loved one

Sent Flowers

Eternal Friendship Remembrance Bouquet - VASE INCLUDED

Sandra Gantt

Sent Flowers

Philip Novak

October 13, 2020

We are deeply saddened learning of John’s
passing.
Such fantastic memories of Springfield gatherings, Rend Lake golf outings, dinners
and my house mate years ago.
There will never be another person with the
personality of a John Reilly.
Our sincere condolences to Alicia and family.
Phil and Becky Novak

Eternal Affection Arrangement- BASKET INCLUDED

Thomas Jurkanin

Sent Flowers

Dan Harig

October 13, 2020

Uncle John was the youngest of an amazing group of siblings and aunts/uncles that I truly cherish, love and admire. My mom, Kate Harig, in July 2020, described her younger brother to me: “John is a character and always has been a character, and he is extremely generous”. My dad had an special relationship with Uncle John and after dad passed in 2008 I was able to develop a similar type relationship with Uncle John. During our many conversations I would ask John about how he was feeling and he would always deflect and ask about mom, my family and siblings. Only thing he would complain about was the darn dermatologist. On 9/28, Uncle John called to see how the family was doing and I was glad I was able to answer this special and caring call and have a good conversation. I will miss the times we talked while enjoying a cold beer and cigar. More importantly, I will miss Uncle John’s sense of humor, talking sports and/or politics, the way he admired Mary Lynn and our three kids Katy, Sarah and Daniel. To sum it up all I can say is we need more characters like Uncle John Reilly. Prayers and hugs to Alicia and the entire family. Dan Harig

John Novak

Sent Flowers

Marian Arslanian

Planted Trees

ANNETTE LANCASTER

October 12, 2020

So sorry for the families loss. I met him a few times.

CAROLE SPARKS

October 12, 2020

My deepest sympathies to the Reilly family. John and attended All Saints grade school in University City Mo. and graduated from there. He was liked by everyone.

John Waters

October 12, 2020

My consolences for Alicia and her children. John did a lot of reaaly good things as a community involved leader. RIP. Prayers

Patricia Palazzolo

Sent Flowers

Karen Crites

October 11, 2020

Alicia — my deepest sympathies— praying for your family in this time of sorrow. May God’s peace be with all of you.

Terry Cross

October 11, 2020

We are very saddened by the news of John’s passing. Alicia and family you have our deepest condolences.

John was a great friend, kind, and blessed with an amazing sense of humor and wonderful wit. Stories and laughter seemed to follow wherever John went. He will be dearly missed.
Terry and Judy Cross

Terry Cross

October 11, 2020

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